


The Aesir King

by Jasenerd



Category: Norse Religion & Lore, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Gen, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2019-06-19 04:57:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15502800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jasenerd/pseuds/Jasenerd
Summary: The wheels of time are unending. The dawn and twilight of the Gods has come once and again in an endless cycle. Now something is gone, Ragnarok has destroyed something vital in the heart of the nine realms. Surtr has abandoned his vigil, Midgard has grown beyond it's limits, Niflheim grows bright, and now the powers of the Gods trickle down to humanity. To this the spirits of the Gods return to the Nine Realms, return to the Midgard's miracle of Science and Quirks.





	1. Wake up

They say that Izuku was born lucky. That his quirk was not only powerful, but a true blessing. His classmates, from his first class until his tenth year, marvelled at his increased physical abilities, ignoring his mental aptitude and his actual "quirk". Well, it didn't help that he never discovered his actual abilities until later in life, when the dreams truly began.

Instead, the world simply labelled his physical abilities as a quirk. To be fair to his doctors, his body was categorically better than the baseline in nearly every manner imaginable. Strength, resistance, endurance, healing, memory, perception, flexibility and even aesthetically; Izuku was better. Each of these blessings only grew when Izuku started training.

Where a man may train for a day to increase his strength by a pittance, Izuku gained results from any training at a far more generous rate. He would never gain the strength of All Might, or the speed of Ingenium, but he was a fair bit better than anyone without a physical quirk. If he had only one of his blessings, it would be considered a mediocre quirk. Certainly he might grow to have an appreciable fraction of All Might’s strength, but on it’s own there are many quirks that would just outpace mere strength.

However, taken together, people see Izuku as a destined hero. His abilities would allow no less of him. One of his classmates, the unearthly beautiful Bakugou Katsuki, had a very similar baseline of ability. If physical enhancement quirks were not so common, people may have marvelled at how two young boys of the same age had such similar quirks. And their “quirks” were similar.

However, they also had difference. Both Bakugou and Izuku were natural masters of combat, understanding it in a manner not unlike savants. Where Izuku had instinct, Bakugou had near precognition when fighting. On the other hand, Izuku was smart and wise in a way that Bakugou likely never would be. Perhaps it’s because of this that Bakugou tried to attack and belittle his ‘rival’. After all, as children, they would naturally seek to compete when they were so similar.

Then again, Izuku never really was a child. He was certainly young, and still developing physically, but to the world around him, Izuku was more mature than many adults. He had a level of aloofness that enraged Bakugou and caused distance to form between his classmates and him. Izuku’s childhood was not hard, Bakugou’s pointless rivalry didn’t bother him, but he never truly learned social graces.

Certainly, Izuku could talk to people, but never with them. For all his enhanced charisma, Izuku was plagued with social anxiety and was certainly isolated by the gulf between his mental maturity and those of his peers. Izuku was always kind, he was a bleeding heart at the core, but he never really managed to grow attached to friends.

It certainly did not help that Izuku was plagued by visions in his sleep. Any other may have called them nightmares or dreams, but something in his heart rejected the notion. At first they were tame enough. For the length of his seventh year, he dreamed of a vast banquet hall holding countless warriors. They each feasted on mutton and drank deeply of mead.

In those dreams, he would drink and feed his familiars, a pair of ravens and another of wolves.

Always he was drinking at the head of the vast table. He felt proud of his loyal warriors in those visions, but they always ended as they started: Drinking mead. Back then, Izuku simply enjoyed the nice visions, acquiring quite a taste for mead in his waking life.

Unfortunately, as he grew older and more mature, so to did the dreams. At first many of them were at worst boring, being a mediator between many of the Aesir. Each night, the visions grew in seriousness, until Izuku witnessed his first battle.

0-0-0-0-0-0

There was some dispute with the Jotun of Jotunheim, but that is not what caught Izuku’s eye. His first born son, Thor, could handle the giants, he was Asgard’s mightiest warrior. Instead, it was the flight of dragons rushing overhead. The villages of Alfheim could not handle the fiery beasts. He tightened his hold on trusty Gungnir.

The largest of the beasts of Muspell was far away indeed, but Gungnir would never miss such a target. Izuku twisted his body and put his entire strength behind it. Akin to a rocket, the golden spear soared through the air, leaving shock waves in its wake. The chest of the beast misted down over the town, raining coppery viscera over the village. The other dragons winged back, facing down Izuku.

Izuku held his hand to the sky and called for Gungnir’s return. The runes of blood echoed on his trusty spear, a faint facsimile of Mjollnir’s master crafted enchantments. Channelling the might of Alfheim, the runes reeled back the mighty spear. With it’s return, Izuku urged his mount forward and rode into battle. The first beast, a brilliant blue creature that shone in the light, dove towards Izuku.

His other hand drew forward runes of Jotunheim and it’s endless winter. Izuku stared impassively at the bearing beast, as it opened it’s maw and the faint edges of flames lit up the back of it’s throat. Before the beast could unleash it’s white flames, the rune was finished. From his left hand, a portal formed inside of his blind spot, releasing the fury of winter upon the beast of flames.

Much akin to the sky’s frozen rain, the beast fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. The next beast soared in its wake, but Izuku’s spear rose to meet the creatures flank. Ruby blood spurted from the wound, and a chunk of warm flesh came free when Izuku ripped his spear out of the dragons hide. His face was warm with blood, pushing him forward into the next beast.

This beast was rising, no doubt fleeing from his wrath. Izuku rose to his feet atop his mount’s back, bending at the knees. As the Beast flew overhead Izuku leapt. With an iron grip, Izuku sunk his fingers deep into the tense muscles in the dragon’s hind. With blood leaking over his hand, Izuku threw himself further up, over the flying dragon. The beast was still roaring in pain when he landed on its neck.

Before the beast could throw him off, Izuku plunged his fist deep into the eye of the beast. Brown fluid squelched out of the moist organ, running down the beast snout. With a heave, the dragon threw Izuku off it’s neck, sending him flying up once more. Izuku felt the other him, the one living in that moment, consider the beast. It was crippled now, but losing a single eye was by no means fatal. After all, had he not already lost an eye?

_Had he?_

With gravity at his side, Izuku moved to strike at the beast’s skull. With two hands gripping the base of Gungnir, Izuku felt his arms and sides burn with the power of his swing. The air shrieked in protest as the golden bronze of his mighty spear pulped the skull of the beast into a meaty paste. Splatters of blood streaked up his beard and face, painting them in the paints of war.

“My liege!” One of the Aesir called out to him, drawing Izuku’s attention. The approaching man was the messenger Hermodr. Izuku rode the corpse of the once mighty beast into the ground not far from his son.

“Speak Hermodr.” Izuku said in a voice that wasn’t his own, but was far more familiar than any he spoke with while among the waking world.

“Thor Odinson would report that the siege from the Jotun has be routed.” His son _(not his son)_ reported. “He wishes to follow the routing warriors to their keep and strike them down.”

“Tell your brother that he will not go alone.” The other Izuku said, “I will give him a legion to follow his will.”

_“He will not,” Izuku longs to say._

The threads of the vision was coming undone. Already, the dream and the mind were warring. With increasingly distorted sight, Izuku watched himself breath life into warriors of stone. With the breath of life, the stone rose to a stiff, grinding life. The image of these terracotta soldiers burned itself into Izuku’s mind. Blood would paint them a ghastly red, he could see it now. With his eye that wasn’t whole.

Izuku bolted up, bile climbing in his throat. He feet pounded against the frail wood of his floor, sending him hurtling into the bathroom he shared with his mother. Against his will, he loosed bile into the bathtub. The subtle, tingling burn of the vomit kept him grounded. Behind him, the rushing steps of his mother echoed out.

Soon enough, his mother was beside him. Her hand pressed down on his back, another sensation to focus on. Tears rose unbidden to his eyes as the feel and taste of those animal’s blood and viscera assaulted him once more. Izuku’s stomach felt like it was tearing itself apart and his entire chest as shivering. Another flood of vomit coated the bathtub, the smell burning his nose.

“Breathe,” his mother said, gently rubbing his back. “It’s okay now, just breathe.”

Izuku took in a shuddering breath, his chest heaving like hammers with each breath. Slowly, the memories stopped, leaving him shivering in his mother’s hug. Words of comfort flowed out of his mother, helping him calm down, helping him focus. Izuku pulled the shattered wreck of his composure back together, at least enough to stand.

His heart glowed with the care his mother gave him while leading him to the couch in their living room. When she left to go clean the bath, Izuku focused on breathing evenly. In through the nose and hold. The subtle burn of his lungs helped ease his stomach. Then release, letting out all of his tension. Just like his mother taught him, breathing always helped. And again, he breathed in and held it.

“Izuku.” His mother said, “Are you doing okay?”

“Y-yeah.” Izuku said, his voice meek. “It was the worst one yet.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to a quirk counsellor?” His mother asked, reaching an arm around him and hugging him tightly.

“No matter how I put it, to anyone else they are just going to be dreams.” He said, stifling another stutter.

“Izuku, this one made you sick.” His mother’s gentle voice washed over him.

“To anyone else, they’ll just see a vivid nightmare.” He argued, gaining steam. “What can they possibly do for me?”

“But we can’t know,” his mother said, looking down at him with her worried eyes. “This is the first time they were this bad.”

“I know mom.” Izuku’s voice was melancholic as he stared at his hands. “This vision was a battle. I had a spear and used more of those rune magics. Then there was something different. I breathed life into stone.”

“It’s okay Izuku.” She said, rubbing his back. “That wasn’t you, you wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

White mist leaked out of Izuku’s mouth, before crawling around his hands and flowing into a loose paper. “Crumple.” Izuku said, letting life flow into the paper. When the last trail of the mist entered the paper, it crumpled into a ball on it’s own. Beside him, his mother gasped.

“It was me. Otherwise how could I have the same quirk?” Izuku asked, “I killed those dragons, I was the one to make it rain blood.”

“Izuku,” His mother said, tightening her hug. “You can’t use those runes, it wasn’t you!”

Izuku felt the tears streaming down his cheeks before he replied; “It has to be me, why else do I remember it so clearly.”

His mother hiccuped, but spoke through her own tears. “Oh Izuku. You are my baby boy, how could I not know you. What ever you remember, I know you. You aren’t a heartless monster, you aren’t a warrior king. You are my son. You are a smart, clever boy, with a heart of gold. Don’t let your dreams tell you otherwise, you are a good person.”

With that, Izuku lost what little composure he had managed to save. He cried in earnest, hugging his mother. She hugged him back just as hard, for all that she lacked a physical quirk. The early rays of sunlight struck through the covered window, shining on the duo. Eventually, Izuku calmed himself, and managed to pull away from the hug.

“You have to get ready for work, don’t you?” He asked. His mother could only look down at her beautiful child.

“Always looking out for me aren’t you?” His mother said, messing Izuku’s hair. “Why don’t you go and get ready for school then.”

The pair giggled, before standing up and going their separate ways. Izuku stumbled into his darkened room, floundering for the lights. Once he found the switch, he quickly made his bed and got changed. His school uniform was a recent addition for him, still subtly foreign even to himself. A wane smile snuck onto his face as he got dressed. He may still be a child, but already he was growing older. How many years until he had the chance to become a hero? Izuku snorted, as if he hadn’t been counting the days. Half a decade until he could leave his middle school and apply to U.A.

“I’m leaving! Breakfast in on the table!” His mother called out, before closing the door. Not five minutes passed and he was out the door as well. His last slice of toast was held in his mouth as he fought with the lock to the door. Once the stupid tumblers finally clicked, Izuku was walking away. He pulled his scarf off his arm and wound it around his neck. Then he could finally finish his toast.

Certainly, he got dirty looks from some of the adults that he walked past, but he didn’t have time to stop at a bench and finish his toast. If he was any later, then Katsuki would beat him to school. Katsuki would not let him live it down if he was second, and Izuku didn’t have the energy to deal with him today. In almost perfect synchronicity, the train pulled into the station just as he walked through the small gate. The small tide of people pushed against him, but Izuku managed to push forward and grab a seat near the front of the train.

Izuku felt his emotions try to unsettle him, but he forced them down with razor focus. With a breath in, Izuku calmed himself. Today was not going to be an easy day.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Like clockwork, the day went about as terribly as it could be. Katsuki beat him to school, leaving him to brag all day. Then they had a quiz on Katakana, his worst subject. After that, Katsuki came after him at lunch for another fight. Much like it always goes, Izuku lost the fight. Thankfully, he wasn’t the sole loser, considering the bloody nose he left Katsuki with. Of course, they got caught this time. So now they were sitting outside of the principle’s office.

“This is your fault.” Katsuki said.

“My fault? It’s not like I’m the one always asking for a fight. Literally.” Izuku said. He winced, feeling his bruised side complain at him.

“Stop complaining, idiot. If you’re going to be a hero you are going to get in fights all the time.” As usual, Katsuki was far from pleasant.

“You know, surprisingly, most heroes work in search and rescue.”

“Shut up!” Katsuki snapped at him.

“Brat! What have you done this time!” A woman’s voice shouted. As always, the Bakugou Matriarch was an eerie echo of her son.

“Shut it hag! They’re just being stupid!” Katsuki yelled back.

“Don’t call me hag! Show some respect!” His mother yelled back.

Izuku quietly faded to the background and let the mother son pair shout at each other. It wasn’t his place to intervene, besides it was an easy way to get Katsuki to leave him alone. He saw his own mother trailing behind Bakugou. He waved shyly and felt his guilt redouble as he saw the worry literally wash of his mother.

Or rather figuratively, since using literally as a hyperbolic intensifier was out of fashion. Izuku stifled a giggle at the childish correction to his own thoughts. The following conversation with the principle was a rote matter for the Bakugou's, but entirely novel for Izuku. Seeing the amount of leeway given to those with powerful quirks first hand was certainly interesting. If it wasn’t unsettling to receive naught but a slap on the wrist for attacking another student, Izuku may have been relieved for it.

As it was, Izuku felt his resolution to do good upon the world only increase. He was being given a great deal of trust to handle himself with his great power. It would be terribly irresponsible for him to take advantage of the good will of those around him. In perhaps the greatest moment of clarity he’s ever had, Izuku saw how being treated like this could corrupt him. And he swore to resist that corruption.


	2. Connection

The small stick figure made of rope scurried over the dinner table to fetch the butter. It's bendy limbs were somehow able to support itself. It’s two arms reached around the butter dish to pull it over to Izuku. His mother sat down across from him, watching with an indiscernible look on her face. The little bendy guy managed to get the butter in front of Izuku, which he responding to by taking a slice of butter on his knife. The stick figure then looked up at Izuku, bending the loop of rope it had for a head to the side.

“What?” He asked, seeing his mother’s look. “I'm practising!”

“So, what did you do with your quirk?” She asked, sitting across from him with a mug of coffee.

“I brought him to life with a complicated three sentence command.” Izuku asked, buttering his piece of toast. “I dreamt about it last night. 'Awaken to my breath, serve my needs, live at my Commands and my word'”

“That's... concerning.” His mother said. “Just how alive are your constructs?”

“I... don't know?” Izuku hesitated. “I do know that they aren't all the same, some commands create smarter constructs.”

“So what did you use this command for?” Izuku suppressed a smile at his mother's attempt to cheer him up.

“It creates a construct that obeys my commands,” Izuku said, pausing to finish his toast. “in this case, fetching the butter.”

“Is it going to just stand there today?”

“Oh, that command only lasted an hour last time I used it.” Izuku explained, “In my dream it was forever, but I'm not as powerful as that version of me.”

“That's okay dear.” His mom said, standing up. “I have to go to work, are you still planning on going to the mall today?”

“Mom I'm not a kid anymore! I can handle going to the mall!”

“I know Izuku, I just worry.” his mom said, walking over to the door.

Izuku deflated, and let out a sigh. “Sorry, I shouldn't have yelled. Have a good day at work.”

“Thank you, stay safe.”

With that, his mom slipped out of their apartment. Izuku sighed and moved to the kitchen. The slimy guilt plagued him as he cleaned the counters and put the butter away. The little rope guy was determined to follow the butter though. Even when he put the little plastic container in the fridge, the little guy just climbed up and pulled the butter out. Seeing his construct's behaviour lightened his mood a touch, so Izuku reached over and grabbed the stick figure.

“Hear my words and commands. Stay with me.” Izuku said, feeling more than seeing the shiver of breath inside the cute guy. With his new focus and command, the little guy climbed up onto Izuku shoulder and just watched the world from his new perch. It's floppy head kept moving from side to side and watching the world in it's own silent way.

Soon the kitchen was clean and Izuku had to go get ready. It was pretty warm today, so he dressed himself in shorts and a t-shirt with a wonderful 't-shirt' label on it's front. It was a silly gift from his dad and always made him smile. As soon as his shirt was on, his friend climbed back up onto his shoulder and from there onto his head.

The train station was quieter today, something that Izuku enjoyed with a deep breath. He looked up at the schedule, before going to sit down at a bench. Izuku pulled out his phone and opened his news app. Another couple minor villain arrests, mostly by Ingenium's squad of sidekicks. He really was getting popular now. Maybe when he got into the business, Izuku could join him.

Izuku snorted and shook his head. There's no way a minor firm like Ingenium's would take on another combat specialist. They already had Detour and Simulacra. Not to mention the titular Ingenium. Still, Izuku can't help but hope to join the star hero. Then again, All Might recently lost his old sidekick. In a perfect world, that would be the position to grab.

Just imagining such an opportunity had Izuku giddy. Right beside Japan's best hero, he could help so many people. A hiss startled Izuku out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see the train pulling into the station. With little trouble, Izuku managed to grab a window seat for his trip to the mall. He had to pick up some materials to work on his quirk with. Fabric was cheaper that wood, so perhaps he'll buy that.

On the other hand, he can't really carve fabric, or even create defined bodies with it. Sure his little sticky friend was strong enough to pull butter, but in fights how much could fabric really do? It took an entire quirk to even make denim, an already tough fabric, into battle ready material. Then again, Jeanist was a rising star of a hero recently. Didn't be bust some sort of drug ring recently?

Eventually, his stop came up and Izuku disembarked. The mall was busy, but not the worst he's seen it. There was about twenty nine people in the room. He walked over to the escalators and tried to remember where the craft store was. It was on the third floor he thought, near the second floor food court.

In the corner of his eye, something orange caught his eye, then it was gone. Izuku turned his head around, trying to find that familiar flash of something, but to no avail. It was somewhere behind him he was sure. The woman behind him coughed, causing Izuku to stumble and step off the escalator. It was gone, any chance he had of finding that familiarity dispersing in the wind.

The store was almost empty of people, so Izuku took his time and picked out thick, strong fabrics, along with some spattering of other fabrics to experiment with. His mother had given him some extra money too, so maybe he should pick up some sticks or something to make dolls with. What were they called, those clockwork dolls...

Karakuri! Karakuri Puppets, that's what they're called. Asking the clerk, Izuku got directions to a nearby shop that would stock Karakuri puppets, along with other machinist parts. Thanking the clerk, he bought his bag of fabrics and left for the other shop. He was passing near the balcony when he saw it again, the orange glint of those _eyes_. They were so familiar, more familiar to him that his own eyes. Where had he seen those piercing eyes before.

Then the young girl turned away, talking to her father. Izuku shook his head and moved on. Still those eyes haunted him. Orange and so piercing, yet warm and familiar. It couldn't be someone from his waking life, it had to be from the visions. But who?

The clerk at the clock store was an elderly man, with a burning passion for machinery. His smile when Izuku asked about Karakuri puppets was more than happy to hear his desire to purchase a simple puppet. His wrinkled face twisting into a bright smile as he lead Izuku into the side isle away from what appeared to be actual hero gear.

“So what kind of puppet are you looking for?” The old man asked, “Perhaps one that serves tea?”

“Something able to move,” Izuku said, “I want to try my quirk on something more practical.”

“Oh? What would that quirk be, young man?”

“I can bring things to life temporarily.”

“How curious.” The elder said, before moving to a shelf and grabbing a small box. “Take this one then, on the house.”

“Oh, I can't possibly-”

“Nonsense.” The old man said, giving Izuku a smile. “It's a gift, you don't need to worry.”

“But, I can't just take it from a stranger.” Izuku protested, feeling blood rushing up to his face.

“I am Hatsume Koroko, retired support hero.” Hatsume said, brushing his off white hair past his ear. “There now we aren't strangers.”

“Hatsume-san, I can't possibly take advantage of your generosity.”

“Kiddo, it always warms my heart when I see the new generation growing interested in our culture.” Hatsume said, bending down on one knee. “Just accept the frivolity of this old man.”

“Okay.” Izuku said, giving Hatsume a smile. “Thank you for the gift.”

“You are quite welcome my boy. Is there anything else you need?”

“No I'm good.” Izuku said. He bowed to the generous man and turned to leave.

There she was, walking into the small store. The girl with the familiar eyes. Closer now, Izuku noticed the pink cornrows she had her hair in, and the cheery smile. The girl looked past Izuku and her entire being shone brighter, he smile becoming radiant. Her lunging footsteps quickly took her past him and he heard her slam into the old man behind him.

“Uncle Koro!” The girl shouted, her voice at once soft and exuberant. “Dad said I could buy a rivet gun!”

“That's great! Let me go get one from the back.” Hatsume said, turning towards the back with the girl in tow.

The desire to learn more about the girl warred with his sensibility. Curiosity was a strong pull, but not much more than his own misgivings and anxiety. Izuku took a steadying breath and walked out onto the balcony again. Looking down at the food court, Izuku continued to breath deeply. He could always just go home for the day.

The thought sent a flash of disappointment through Izuku. How could he be such a coward. Why could he not be like his dream self, confident and resolute. Instead here he was, essentially running away from someone he wanted to talk to. It's fine, he just would take a moment to gather his thoughts then go back in and say hi. Just as Izuku felt his resolve firm, a series of screams rent the air.

Izuku spun around, only to see a pair of villains approaching. The one in the lead had flames billowing from his arms, uncaring of the burning people around him. To his left, a woman surrounding by hovering metal spears. Energy flooded his system as he watched the two villains walk past him, towards the hobby store. Izuku took a step towards the villains.

One of the metal spears spun around and hovered centimetres from Izuku's face. A could sweat trickled down his back as the two villains turned around and faced him. The woman was sneering at him, with malice and anger oozing off of her. However, it was the man that really scared him. The pyromaniac didn't frown or smile or even narrow his eyes. He just stood there and looked at Izuku.

“Don't play hero kid, or you'll die.” The man said, turning back around. “Deal with him Siero, I'm going to get the target.”

“Of course dear!” The manic woman said. Three of her four spears lanced forward into the ground around Izuku. The pierced deeply, causing some disquieting rumbling in the ground bellow him. “Back up!”

Izuku paused for a second, before slowly backing up to the edge of the balcony. His left hand was still holding the bag of cloth. If he could activate his quirk, he would be able to fight. Already the pyromaniac was inside the hobby store and burning things from the sounds that echoed out. The woman smirked, and the entire balcony collapsed.

Izuku hung in the air for a split second, before reaching into the bag and breathing life into a scarf sized piece of felt. “Catch me.”

The piece of fabric coiled around his arm and stabbed into the remaining surface of the balcony. Izuku's body slammed into a pillar, which he held onto tightly. Once again, the scarf moved on it's own, pulling itself from the balcony and grabbing the pillar. With that, Izuku allowed himself to slide down the pillar onto the ground. As soon as the adrenaline subsided, Izuku heard the screams and shouts of panicking civilians.

He shivered, dread fighting against duty. Izuku pulled two pieces of fabric from his purchases. The large tarp sized one was first, so Izuku released his breath. “Conceal me.”

With a twist, the purple cotton was wrapped around him in it's own bizarre manner, manning to hide his head and upper body from view. The second piece of scarf sized felt was next. Izuku focused his quirk on the two felt pieces. “Be as my hands and reach beyond my means.”

The two scarves coiled around his arms, the ends hugging his palms. Suitably prepared, Izuku ran up to the fallen balcony and leaped up to the floor above. His jump left him short, but with a jab of his arm, the scarf on his left arm shot forward and grabbed the edge of the broken tiles. The fabric was smart enough to pull Izuku the rest of the way up, leaving him kneeling on the edge of the broken floor. The pyromaniac was carrying a large briefcase out of the hobby store, leaving behind embers.

Inside the store, Hatsume was bleeding from his side. Two of the telekinetic spears were hovering just in front of him. Izuku's eyes quickly scanned, but he couldn't find that familiar girl from before. Nor could he find the telekinetic. The man's bleeding wasn't too bad, so he was good for now. The pyromaniac then.

Izuku sprinted towards the man, coming up from behind him. The man began to turn when Izuku caught up to him and swung his left arm at the man. The fabric reacted by lunging forward to grab the man's leg. The first flickers of embers bloomed on the man's reaching arm when Izuku swung his arm back with his enhanced strength. In response the fabric pulled back close to his arm as well, helping to pull the man's leg out from under him.

Izuku lunged forward to kick the man's head before he could react. The flames sparked up on his arms, but his head snapped to the side before he could recover enough to attack. When Izuku felt for his pulse, he sighed a breath of relief when it revealed that the man was merely unconscious. He stood up, ignored the cheering crowd and jogged back to the hobby store.

The old man was still bleeding, but his arm was held against the wound. Either way, Izuku pulled another strip of fabric from the store rack and gave it life. “Seal his wound.”

The man gasped as the fabric wiggled to life and jumped off his hand to wrap around his midsection. “You're the kid,” Hatsume said, trailing off.

“Shh. Tell me where the other one went.” Izuku pleaded.

“She's in the back, chasing after Mei.” Hatsume said, “Please, I know I can't ask to this, but save _her_.”

“Don't worry Hatsume-san.” Izuku said, feeling a blush creep onto his hidden face. “Because I am here.”

Hatsume laughed, before coughing. “Okay hero-san, now go save her!”

Without further prompting, Izuku rose to sprint through the store. The shelved were torn up, and he could see the back door thrown wide open. Just as Izuku passed the door, the sounds of the girl, Mei, and the telekinetic finally grew loud enough for him to hear. Manic laughter and the sound of steel on steel was not the most promising sound. Izuku followed his ears through the tight hallway that opened into what had to be a support gear workshop. Shields, bracers and guns lined the walls, with a steel door on the other wall held ajar by one of the telekinetic's spears.

The girl came back through the door, parrying a spear with what appeared to be an electrical stun baton fused with a sword. The woman prowled out after her, with a slice in her left cheek. Izuku was already on his way in when Mei swung forward in a textbook Asgardian manoeuvre. The woman hissed as another slice carved into her chest. It was shallow, not even cutting fully into her muscles.

This time three spears dove in at Mei, but Izuku jumped in front of her and swung both arms out to grab two of the spears. The fabric coiled around them, but didn't move fast enough for Izuku to use them to parry the third. His chest and shoulders tensed up in preparation for the blow, only for Mei to sneak under his left arm and swing her sword up to cut the spear in half.

Their opponent hissed in disappointment, bringing forward her final two spears and trying to pull the two spears Izuku had grabbed from him. Instead, he reeled them futher in with his fabric. They fought over those two spears, but slowly Izuku began to lose ground. Mei lunged forward at the villain, stabbing at her stomach. Immediately, the pulling stopped and Izuku was able to grab both spears.

While the woman was distracted by Mei, Izuku plunged the two spears into the ground. Just as Mei was forced back to parry another blow, Izuku reached forward and grabbed that spear as well. The woman took one look at the pair, and opted to reach down and draw a rune on a fallen shield. Before she could finish, Izuku stole it from her with his other arm.

Finally, Mei smashed the flat of the blade against the woman. With a yelp and the discharge of electricity, the woman collapsed on the ground. Izuku released his grip on the two items, allowing them to fall to the floor. Beside him, Mei had collapsed against the wall. The both of them were breathing hard, but Mei had gotten away with only a handful of scratches. As for Izuku, he had a couple forming bruises on his arms where his constructs hand pulled too hard.

“How are you doing, holding up alright?” Izuku asked, moving to sit across from where Mei was sitting down with her sword leaning up just beside her shoulder.

“I am... okay.” Mei said, tracing over the ruby lines on her forearm. “What should I call you?”

Izuku froze for a second, dozens of names flashing by his mind in a millisecond, before he answered, “Grimmr.”

Mei startled and turned to Izuku with a gleam in her eye. “You're Odin?!”

That name struck Izuku. That was the name of his past life. “I was Odin, lord of Asgard. Which of the Aesir were you?”

“I was Heimdallr, my liege!” Mei said, gesturing wildly. “I am so, so happy to find you!”

A flush bloomed on Izuku's cheeks. “Worry not, you have honoured your oath of fealty.”

“Fine.” Mei said, her voice gaining a cheery and energetic tint. “Then I, Hatsume Mei, hereby-”

“Mei! Please don't do that!” Izuku said, waving his hands in front of him.

“-swear by my duty as Heimdallr, unending-”

“Mei!” Izuku shouted, “Please, I am no longer Odin.”

“-fealty to-” Mei stopped. “What is your name in this life then?”

“If I tell you, then you will complete your oath.”

“You saved me! And you seem a lot kinder than the old Odin!”

“So just say thank you! I don't lead a people anymore.”

“If you refuse, then how will we reclaim Asgard?!”

Izuku froze. “Asgard still exists?”

“It does. I have watched the plains of Asgard since I first remembered it.” Mei said, her eyes glowing in that manner that Heimdallr's would.

“I have no great desire to reclaim Asgard.” Izuku grew wistful as he spoke. “Instead I would stay in Midgard and become a hero out society.”

“Well I guess my own desire to study machines and magic in my new life is the same.” Mei said, looking far off into the distance. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Don't worry about. I wanted to save you.”

“You should run, the heroes are entering the mall now.” Mei said, handing Izuku a small strip of paper. “Take my number and text me tonight.”

“Will do!” Izuku said, leaping up and taking the number. When he exited the store, a hero he didn't recognize was securing the pyrokinetic. Another was making his way into the back, but stopped when he encountered Izuku. She was goofy jester shorts, with a tank top and a bandana on. Her sea green hair triggered something in the back of his mind, but Izuku couldn't for the life of him recall it. Her belt like thing had a handful of smiley faces on it.

“Hey.” The heroine said, stopping in front of him. “There is another villain back there?”

“Telekinesis, currently unconscious with a civilian in the room.” Izuku tried to channel as much of his father's business voice as he could, with a touch of his old Odin persona. “The civilian is only lightly harmed. I trust the pyrokinetic is still unconscious?”

“Yup! So you're a new hero eh? Got a name?”

“... I suppose that's a good way to put it. You can call me Grimmr.” Izuku said, walking past the heroine. “Take care of the unconscious villain for me? I was in civilian attire when this went down.

The heroine didn't say anything for a couple minutes; “You know, it's really good that you're a pro hero. It would suck to charge you with vigilantism.”

“Good thing.” Izuku said, acknowledging the barb. He was lucky, at least by his own estimation, that he met such an understanding hero. The elder Hatsume was still outside the shop, but this time with what appeared to be a paramedic beside him. Izuku paused on his way out to pat him on the shoulder and say goodbye.

Once Izuku removed the living cloth from himself, he suddenly realized that he had lost his bag, and the puppet too.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

He should have called his mother after he got out of the mall. If he had, he wouldn't have had to deal with her hysteria after thinking he had been hurt. It would have saved her a lot of worry, and wouldn't have cost him anything. Izuku just left it as a lesson learned as he continued to console his mom. At least she hadn't learnt that he had been directly involved.

“Oh Izuku!” His mother cried. “You can't scare me like this!”

“I know mom, I'm sorry.” Guilt ate at Izuku's gut.

“Okay dear. I'm going to make dinner, why don't you go get cleaned up?” His mother was still wiping tears from her eyes.

A buzz interrupted there conversation. With a wave, Izuku walked to his room. On his bed, he had folded his vigilante costume. He needed to decide what to do with that. Izuku grabbed it, and shoved the bundle of cloth into his closet. Finally, he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

_Hatsume Mei  
Hey Odin~ You still owe me a name_

Izuku suppressed a sigh.

_Midoriya Izuku  
Can't you see my name attached to my phone number?_

_Do you know how easy it is to fake that?_

_I think you know I don't_

_Oh fine, ruin my fun :/_

_Did your uncle make it out okay?_

┐ _('_ _～_ _`_ _；_ _)┌ Should be fine_

_Did any of the other Aesir or Vanir come back?_

_None of them are in Asgard or Vanaheim_

_oh_

_Are you going to be doing a repeat of today?_

_Why_

_Well, I can't let my liege fight alone_

_Mei_

_Izuku_

_I'm putting the phone down._

_o7 give me a shout next time you go out_

Izuku snorted as he put his phone done. He probably shouldn't go out and be a vigilante again, he didn't need the wisdom of Mimir's well to see that. On the other hand, he didn't need that wisdom to know that he wouldn't be able to stand on the sidelines if someone was in danger. His abilities needed to grow, more than he had so far managed.

The Aesir grow in power from combat, it is in their warlike nature.

Izuku felt his insides churn at the thought of getting caught and causing his mother more worry.


	3. Labour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out that work never ends when you can't stop looking for it. A lesson that Odin had never needed to learn.

Izuku's phone buzzed with another message. With a sigh, Izuku left his science homework for a while and unlocked his phone and logged into the odd chat app that Mei insisted he install.

[SparkyOne]@1545: Hey Izu~ I need help on another project.

With another sigh, Izuku traced the still healing burn on his side, where her last project had exploded despite her insistence that she had finally cracked runes. She hadn't, since even six month of Odin's half remembered tricks she couldn't stabilize her runes. Odin had required an elaborate ritual to gather the power and knowledge to fuel his runes, so Izuku had little hope for their attempts.

[Mummy]@1546: I will be over in half an hour, I need to finish this science essay.

[SparkyOne]@1546: I can help you if you come over, I just need to measure you for your support gear!

[Mummy]@1547: How many times do I need to say this, I'm not looking to go out and deliver Vigilante justice on my foes.

[Mummy]@1547: ... Did you change my name again?

[SparkyOne]@1548: Of course, I understand what you are saying. ;)

[Mummy]@1549: Mei....

[SparkyOne]@1549: Izu~

[Mummy] changed [Mummy]'s nickname @1550 to [EyeSeeYou]

[SparkyOne]@1550: See you soon! Also like the new name, super funny~ :D:D

Thankfully, Mei lived within walking distance of his apartment, so he didn't need to bother with the train and it's crowds. Instead he got to walk in the nice and crisp winter air. It reminded him of those dream he had when Odin graced Midgard in disguise. By the time he got to Mei's home, she must have informed her parents that he was coming over, because they opened the door the first time he knocked.

“Oh! Midoriya, Mei is expecting you in her workshop.” Her father said, before letting him inside. Izuku took a moment to shake off any leftover snow from his boots.

“Thank you Hatsume-san, I appreciate the hospitality.” Izuku said, giving the elder man the deference politeness required of him.

“Oh none of that, you saved my brother's and daughter's life.” Hatsume replied. “As long as I am here, you are welcome.”

“I appreciate it.” Izuku replied, giving the man a genuine smile. He laughed, while leading him down to the door to his daughter's lab. “Is business going well?”

The elder paused, waiting for Izuku to finish unlacing his boots before leading him inside. “Well enough, we got another hero to sign on with our firm.”

“That's good news, anyone I would know?”

“It's a recent Shiketsu graduate, her hero name is Stormtiger. Standard aerokenetic package.” Hatsume said, leading Izuku through the hallways of the middle class home towards the sounds of metal grinders running.

“I think I heard of her. She was involved with the Hokkaido tsunami relief effort, right?”

“Exactly, I guess you need to know your competition.” Hatsume said, messing Izuku's hair. The door to Mei's workshop was ahead of them now.“Be careful in there, we haven't given her anything explosive, but that didn't stop her last time.”

“I'll do my best.” Izuku said, stepping into the workshop proper. As soon as his foot hit the ground, he felt Mei's small hands firmly grab his wrists and drag him towards what appeared to be a grinder. In front of it, half a dozen pieces the size of coins and another few the size of small shoes were laid out.

“Nice to see you too Mei,” Izuku said, mirth dripping from his tone. He heard her father laugh and close the door behind them.

She shushed him, dragging his arms out and measuring his proportions. The matter took a couple minutes, until she pushed him back from her grinder and pulled another length of metal out from her parent approved stock of materials. Izuku bit off another laugh, as he reached down to the thick fire blanket that Mei left just for him and breathed life into it.

Sparks began flying almost as soon as the thick material was standing upright. Izuku sat down in his chair and continued to read from his text book. Mei would talk to him when she was done, and forcing it wouldn't achieve anything. The same single minded focus that let Heimdallr resist the long sleep came forward in the strangest manners. Still, it was a small price to pay for her friendship.

Another spark settled onto Izuku's notebook as he was writing. With a sigh, he brushed the small piece of steel off his book and moved further behind the suspended blanket he had risen. It seemed that simply cohabiting Mei's workshop was becoming a thing for them, to the point that Izuku was almost as familiar with it as she was. He didn't mind, he actually did need to study science. In the millennium since the last Ragnerok, the humans of Midgard has learnt much more then even the elves of Alfheim had.

A fact that had Mei excited. Apparently her next project was very promising. Knowing her, it was likely to be something over the top and absurd. The last attempt had been to recreate some sort of wing suit that was theorized a couple years ago, by using runes to overcome the limits of mundane materials. It drew on the fires of Muspel and the air runes of Alfheim. Despite Izuku explaining that he-as Odin- had considered the combination too dangerous to use, she insisted that she wasn't just “slapping together runes to cast spells”.

The device had exploded the moment she used her blood to fuel the runes. Apparently half remembered lectures on the runic practices of Alfheim wasn't enough to teach Mei the dangers with runes. Although to be fair, neither had her first attempted invention exploding.

“Okay! These beauties are done!” Mei shouted, over the din of the grinder spinning down. “I'll be right back, I just need to slot them together.”

The silence was a balm on Izuku's soul, but he did wish his friend luck on her project. Nevertheless, it was mere minutes before Mei returned, this time carrying a pair of lidded boxes with her. He put his book away and reclaimed the life from his blanket. The workshop was relatively clear, considering that she just finished another project.

“How did it go? Well I hope.” Izuku said, standing from seat.

“It went great!” Mei said, bouncing in joy. Her ponytail was still stained with what had to be metal shavings. “Here, this one is for you.”

Izuku smiled, feeling her infectious joy. “Thank you Mei, you didn't have to.”

“Nonsense! You've been beside me the entire time, helping me with projects for months.” She said, pushing the box into his hands.

“Fine, fine.” Izuku laughed. He opened the box to reveal a handle about the size of his forearm. Gently, he lifted the steel piece out of the box and felt it in his hands. It was heavier that it looked, almost two kilograms if he had to guess. Before he could ask, Mei reached forward and guided his finger to a hidden catch in the steel.

With a twang, the handle bloomed out into a proper spear, with a blade sliding out of the forward end. Izuku felt the hints of lost muscle memory in the back of his mind and leaned into them, feeling his body spin the spear around his body in a faux familiar warm up. Incidentally, the series of spins and manoeuvres were impressive to look at, if not practical in the slightest.

“Nice!” Mei complimented him, “I thought you would remember how to use that.”

Her bright smile was radiant, causing Izuku's own smile to grow in answer. “I'm sure you would too, if we gave you a proper sword.”

Her grin turned sly, and Izuku felt the first waves of suspicion wash over him. “Don't worry, and have at you!”

With her shout, Mei pulled a similar hilt from behind her back and triggered it's transformation into a longsword. Izuku pulled his spear into her lunge's way, attempting to get her blade to bite into his spear's haft. Unfortunately, the steel of his spear simply sparked and let Mei pull back from the lock. Stepping forward, Izuku lashed out with the but of his spear against her sword hand.

Mei's smile grew as she caught his attack in her off hand and tried to push his spear out of position to open his guard. With a twist, Izuku followed her push and turned it into a sidestep. His opponent's blade missed his side by centimetres as he slid behind her. In the moments he had, Izuku touched a stray length of rag and breathed life into it.

Mei finished turned and received a face full of rag for her trouble. The rag's simplistic command ran it's course as it gripped against the curve of her temple and blinded her for just long enough for Izuku to move forward and strike her blade out of her hand. Even blinded, Mei managed to resist his grappling for minutes. Then finally, her grip finally gave out and her blade tumbled from her grasp. Without her blade, Izuku easier forced Mei into a simple pin on the ground.

Once she was properly disarmed, Izuku ghosted a hand across his impromptu creature and spoke; “Your breath to mine.” With his command, the mists of power rose from the rag and leached back into his skin, returning some of his lost energy.

“That's not fair,” Mei was pouting up at him, not even struggling against his halfhearted pin. “I didn't use my talent against you.”

Izuku leaned back, a faint smile still ghosting his face. “I am certain that your vision would have helped you.”

“Is... Is that sarcasm?” Mei asked. “Since when did you use sarcasm?”

“Uh, since I was born Izuku instead of Odin, I suppose.” Izuku said, before continuing in a firmer tone of voice. “So did you get your rune attempts to work then?”

“Ah...” Mei trailed off, looking to the side and blushing. “Not exactly....”

In a burst of motion, Izuku grabbed both of the weapons and tossed them to the far end of the room and covered as much of Mei as he could under his body. A couple seconds went by, punctuated by Mei's huffing laughter tickling his shoulder. Hesitantly, Izuku rose to a kneeling position, feeling more than seeing Mei shuffling underneath him.

“You know, Izu~” Mei began, her voice reaching that high pitch and tone that had Izuku cringing in preparation, “If you wanted a hug, you could have just asked.”

“Oh come on, don't act like them exploding would be weird.”

“But it would be! They are purely mechanical.” She huffed, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Really? I didn't think you would give up on runes.” Izuku said, standing up and pulling Mei with him.

“I didn't, I just want us to have weapons when we go out next.”

“Mei, that was a one time thing,” He tried, “I'm not a vigilante.”

“Uh, correction, you ARE a vigilante. You have been since we met.” Mei said, bouncing over to her weapons and triggering them back into their holstered state. “Look into your heart, you know it to be true.”

“I'll take your weapon, but I'm not a vigilante. You'll have to live with that.” Izuku said, taking back his sheathed spear and pushing it into his pocket.

“Whatever you say~” Mei said, her voice teasing. She produced two belt pouches. “Here, put your spear in this holster, it'll keep it secure at your waist.”

Izuku complied, briefly undoing his belt to loop the it through the pouch. The weight felt reassuring at his hip.”So was that all you needed? Can we move onto that science essay I need to write?”

“Sure, what are you working on? We just went over something called atoms in our class.”

“Ah, I did that last semester, my essay is on human organs. I've been researching the lymphatic system, since we didn't cover that in class, but I can't find anything in our textbook about it.”

“We are still only in sixth grade, Izu, they don't really teach the good science until high school.” Mei shrugged, before stepping over to her bookcase and pulling out a large biology textbook. “This should cover the lymphatic system, I believe. Although be prepared to be called over by the teacher to explain how you learnt about it.”

“Thanks Mei!” Izuku said, before walking over to the worktable that Mei left clear for him. “I'll get started, do you have anything you need to work on?”

“I guess I could finish my essay on chemical refinement.”

The two of them worked at the table for a couple of hours, quietly talking and sharing notes. Unlike with base math or language, their shared previous life did not aid them with science, so the two worked in the silence of Mei's workshop with only the faintest sounds of music in the background. By the time Izuku finished his essay, Mei had already completed what little homework of her own she had left. Instead of leaving, she remained behind and messed with her phone. Probably some forum about engineering, if he had to guess.

They parted for the evening shortly afterwards, with Izuku returning to his home and Mei moving to clean her workshop and head to sleep. The night was dark, but the white snow flakes that fluttered to the ground kept it from drowning out the quiet happiness in his chest. It was a nice end to a good weekend, and Izuku couldn't help but smile.

His ears picked up an odd scratch of metal on metal, quiet but forceful. Not unlike the sounds of a glancing blow off of plate. Yet the sound was muted, more than it should be for any real battle. Despite himself, his feet meandered towards the sound, taking turns down alleys and under overpasses to follow the shifting sound of odd muted combat.

Then, passing through a patch of colder air, the sounds bloomed back into their appropriate intensities. Dropping into a prowl, Izuku snuck along the wall towards the sound, before peaking out into an alley. In the alley, two people were fighting. Ingenium's recognizable armour gleamed in the near darkness of the alley, while his opponent's twin daggers sparked off his chest plate. The villain was clad in what appeared to be padded armour, coloured in deep browns and greys.

The alley was a dead end, but there was a ladder at the far end that had a couple of it's rungs torn out. Izuku let out a sigh, seeing Ingenium handle the fight fine without him. He could just walk away. That would be the wise decision. The single villain didn't seem capable enough to fight Ingenium's sidekicks, let alone the hero himself. Still, the dodges the man made were impressive. In a couple years, the villain could be trained into a true warrior.

Just as Izuku turned to leave, a loud bang spun him back around. The villain had use some sort of flash weapon to blind Ingenium, already moving to stab him from behind. Izuku lunged forward, pulling out his purple tarp from the mall incident. As his backpack hit the ground, the purple cloth was already pulling itself up his body. The villain was too close to Ingenium, his dagger already raised and about to plunge.

Desperately, Izuku ripped his new spear from his holster and extended it. Just as the dagger dug into Ingenium's shoulder, Izuku slammed the edge of his blade into the underside of the dagger wielder's wrist. Blood wetted the spear, as the villain scrambled back, shouting. Izuku slid next to Ingenium's flailing body and ripped the dagger out of his shoulder and threw it at the villain.

Even as the villain shouted in pain as they had to tumble to avoid the thrown knife, Izuku was talking to Ingenium; “Ingenium, I'm here to help. I'll keep him off of you while you recover.”

With that, Izuku rushed the villain, keeping them moving and hopefully bleeding. Their blood was already dripping off their left hand, so eventually they should slow down and lose balance. Izuku held his spear in both hands and caught the villains stab on it's haft. Again, the blade didn't bite into his spear and instead slid about.

Just as the villain realized this, Izuku slammed his foot into the villain's knee. This time, the villain's cry of pain was move pronounced. With a quick shifting of his hold, Izuku slammed his spear into the villain's shirt and nailed it to the ground. Behind Izuku, Ingenium let out a cough and moved forward to properly restrain the villain's hands. Looking quickly, it appeared that Ingenium wasn't bleeding too severely.

With a scuff of shoe on stone, Izuku began their conversation; “You okay there Ingenium?”

“I'll be okay, my team is already on the way. Thank you for saving me.” His voice was different then in interviews. Less charming and more intense. Adrenaline would do that to any warrior, Izuku supposed.

“Not an issue.” Izuku said, before waiting for a moment. “What happened to your team?”

“There was another Trigger incident on the other side of town,” Ingenium said, patting down the suspect. “This was a separate villain incident.”

“Should they really be coming here then? I may not be a doctor, but I can at least get first aid done.”

“I appreciate the offer. Nice to meet you... Uh, what should I call you?” With that, Ingenium extended his hand to Izuku.

“I'm Grimmr, nice to meet you.” Izuku said, shaking Ingenium's hand.

“Oh, I don't recognize you. A new hero?”

“Something a bit more underground.” Izuku said, fudging the truth a bit.

“Ah I see. Do you have time to swing by with me to the precinct?”

Before Izuku could even begin to make up a story, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket, letting the first chord of Intergalactic Disco. Giving Ingenium an apologetic gesture, Izuku pulled his phone out and answered the call; “Hello?”

“Grimmr, we need you over here ASAP.” Mei's voice replied, with a hint of smugness in the tone.

“Sorry, I need to go.” Izuku told the hero, before turning and running down another couple of alleyways.

Once he got out of earshot, he heard Mei on the other end of the phone; “So, not a vigilante, eh?”

“Oh for the love of- How did you even know?”

“Every time you leave the workshop, I use my vision to watch over your walk home. Can never be too careful with all these villains out and about.”

“Really?” Izuku asked, wiping the blood off his spear onto his costume.

“Yup!” Mei sang, her voice dripping in self satisfied smugness. “So I was thinking my vigilante name could be Gullin, since I'm ostensibly the provider of our support gear.”

“Me-”

“Ah, ah, ah, code names Grimmr. Code names, don't want the police getting a bead on us.”

“Fine, Gullin, we're not vigilantes, I was just stepping in because he needed a hand.”

“Sure, I guess the police will be very understanding that you mere wanted to use your quirk to get involved in hero work without a license while not being a vigilante.”

“I don't appreciate the sarcasm Me-, Gullin.”

“Duly noted Grimmr. So the police are currently containing a trigger incident about two kilometres north of you.”

“I know what you're doing Gullin. I don't appreciate it.” Izuku said, feeling a little winded.

Mei continued on, ignoring his interruption. “They have a loose hold on the area, initial victims are contained.”

“Then why would I get involved?” Izuku asked, tensing his shaking arms.

“Well, I suppose saving your fellow vigilantes from the source of these outbreaks would be a good reason?”

“You know who is responsible? Wait, they are in danger? Why didn't you start with that!” Izuku said, the words tumbling over each other.

“Well, not really. I know that a pair of vigilantes are confronting a supplier of the drug a five minute jog from there.” Mei said, completely, infuriatingly, calm about this. “Before you run over and check up on them, you need to take a deep breath.”

Izuku panted, forcing his next sentence out between clenched teeth. “They need HELP! Gullin, tell me where they are!”

“They don't need help from the overwhelmed Izuku. They need Grimmr.” Mei's voice shifted, more warm and caring. “You've been fighting your instincts as Odin and Izuku, and it's not helping you. Calm down.”

“I, I don't know h-how.” Izuku admitted. “This is the first time I've-”

“I know. I went through the same thing after we first met.” Mei, Heimdallr, said. “I know that your body is freaking out. Just take a breath and hold it.”

With a quivering nod, Izuku took a breath.

“Okay, now just listen to me. Your body isn't used to the adrenaline. It's making your body react in panic and your mind is making it worse.”

The two of them stayed there for what must have been minutes. Izuku slowly dragged his body back into his control, with Mei's steady voice in the background. The uncontrollable shaking was the first to lapse, freeing Izuku's hands to grab the bluetooth earpiece Mei had snuck into his sheath. By the time he had managed to get the stupid thing to connect to his phone, the worst of the panic attack had faded.

“I,” Izuku started, struggling to find the words, “Thank you Mei.”

“Literally anytime Izu."

A concussive burst of wind rushed down the alleyway and threw Izuku into an overfull dumpster. With a burst of grace, he caught himself in a handstand. With his hands clasping the metal edge and his feet braced on the brick wall, Izuku felt his muscles burn in protest. After a moment, the push of the air lessened enough that Izuku risked opening his eyes.

“So...” Mei began. “Are you.... seeing a Jotun towering over Hosu?”

“Yes.” Izuku breathed, feeling his eyes widen as he took in the giant four armed figure towering over the sky scrappers that populated Mei's home district. The blue-black skin, the intensity of ice behind those eyes. It was a frost giant. It had to be. Izuku felt, more than intended, his body flip into an upright stance. Running to the closest fire escape and rushing to the roof of the nearest building was more intentional.

“I need answers Gullin.”

“He hasn't travelled from Jotunheim, I would have felt it!” Mei shouted, over the distinct sound of typing.

“Is your sight developed enough to see the hidden?!”

“No, but the Jotun aren't known for using Vanir Seidr.”

“Well, it just grabbed someone! I'm going in. Keep an eye out.” Izuku said, finally reaching the roof of the building. The jotun held a ginger in it's lower left arm and a pair of cars in his two right arms. Izuku spun the spear around his hand, feeling the weight of the steel weapon. It wasn't Gungnir, but the target was hardly the fastest beast of Muspel. With a grunt, Izuku forced his body into a full throw. With weight firmly planted into the cement of the building's roof, Izuku could force every ounce of his enhanced strength into his throw.

The spear didn't exactly fly true, nor fast. It did, however, hit it's mark, digging deeply into the beast's wrist. With a below, the jotun recoiled. More importantly, it's hand relaxed and freed the victim from it's grasp. Izuku jumped to catch the young girl, but someone else got there first. Nothing for it, Izuku instead landed on the young hero's back and leapt for the jotun's arm.

“Heroes are two minutes out. It's an underground hero. I'm looking them up.” Mei told him.

“Thanks.” Izuku replied, just barely catching onto the edge of his spear and grabbing hold of it. Even as Izuku tried to manipulate his momentum to land on the jotun's arm, a large hand slammed down on his back and sent him speed down towards the earth. His left arm held tight to the spear, but his right was broken at the wrist. Pain was clouded his mind, enough so that he hit the ground square on his right side. The familiar burning of broken bones echoed up and down his right arm, and Izuku knew, without even looking, that it would be useless for the rest of tonight. The hero and victim from earlier landed near him, allowing Izuku a better look at them.

The would be hero was clad in jeans and an All Might branded hoodie, while the victim was wearing a one piece swimsuit with heart decorations. They were young, certainly too young to be pro heroes. Izuku snapped his eyes back to the jotun, watching the stab wound frost over with a detached sense of myopia. With this body, with these blades, Izuku knows, he knows, that he can't kill the jotun. Like leaves in autumn, the ice flakes into the air. Another hero swung up to the jotun's head and slammed into his cheekbone.

“You need to get out of here.” Izuku said, turning to see the two vigilantes staring at him in awe and fear.

“Don't be stupid! Your arm is a mess, we can't leave you alone-” The girl began, just as the jotun began to shrink.

“Eraserhead, quirk erasure.” Mei said, “With him is the vigilante Knuckle Duster.”

“Thanks.” Izuku replied, relaxing as thick fabric wound around the shrinking villain. The hero wearing black sweatpants and sweater was using some sort of animate cloth to detail the villain, all the while strolling over towards Izuku.

“Do you need medical help?” Eraserhead asked.

Images of runes flashed past Izuku's mind. Othila Uruz Berkano.

“Hey are you okay?” The one wearing the All Might hoodie said, snapping his fingers in Izuku's face.

“Yes, just a touch... distracted.” Izuku admitted. “I should be fine enough to treat my arm, but if you had a healing quirk, it would be appreciated.”

“There aren't any heroes with healing or regeneration quirks in Hosu.” Eraserhead said, tightly binding the shrunken human. The ice of their jotun blood had receded when their quirk had been erased.

“Alright then. Thanks for the help, I'm Grimmr.” Izuku said, “If you don't mind, I'm going to head back to base and get my arm set and healed.”

“You should wait for an ambulance, they can take care of you.” The pro said, finishing his knot on the subdued villain. “They are professionals.”

“My partner can heal me.” Izuku lied. “I have no need to waste the doctor's time.”

“If you insist.” Eraserhead said, turning his attention to the old gentleman that had swung up to kick the jotun hybrid in the head.

Izuku turned and walked with a confidence he lacked. The other two vigilantes seemed to agree and used the hero's distraction to get away as well. Incidentally, they also followed Izuku down the alley way he used. After a couple minutes of walking, Izuku finally turned to face the two vigilantes and raised an eyebrow at them.

“Can I help you?”

“Um, you're arm is messed up?” The boy asked. He pulled his face mask down to reveal concerned face. “Don't you need medical help?”

“Like I said, my partner can handle it.” Izuku said, wincing as his arm got jostled by his costume.

“It looks like you broke it in two places!” The girl yelled, her face showing an odd mixture of irritation and concern.

“For the record, I actually have no idea how we are going to deal with your arm.” Mei chimed in.

“I appreciate the concern, but I highly doubt that two vigilantes will be able to do better.” Izuku said.

“Well, aren't you a vigilante too?” The boy asked.

“What makes you think that?” Izuku asked, trying to project as much affront as possible.

“Um, well, the way you immediately used a lethal weapon on him.” The boy stuttered.

“If you are trained, you can used a spear to disarm, subdue, incapacitate, and, of course, kill.” Izuku said, suppressing another hiss of pain. “Now, not to be rude, but I would like to get back to base and get this dealt with.”

“Of course, of course, I didn't mean to hold you up.” Izuku nodded to the boy and turned to walk away.

“So I found reference to the young man, he's the vigilante known as the Crawler. Which would make the young woman Pop Step.” Mei said, as Izuku was walking down alleyways back towards where he left his bag. Absently, he retracted his spear and sheathed it.

“Okay, thanks.” Izuku said. “It occurs to me that this whole charade of being an underground hero is going to fall apart at the first hurdle.”

“Of course it is, I'm surprised you thought it wouldn't.”

“I.. I wasn't really thinking.” Izuku said, letting out a shaky breath. “I was just acting.”

“Well, you probably saved Ingenium's life. If that helps.”

“It.... It does actually.” Izuku stopped for a moment and stared up at the night sky. “Is this the point where you say you were right?”

“That's a little gauche. I was going to wait until your arm was looked at.” Mei countered, her voice cheerier.

“Of course, I apologize.”

“So how are we going to get your arm treated?”

“I hoped you weren't going to mention that.” Izuku said, feeling his arm flare up. “I don't regret what I did, but it was foolish to just rush in.”

“I don't disagree.”

“So, what are our options?”

Mei paused, speaking with a hesitant voice. “Well, I took the time to spoof my connection and look up some.... less than legal options we could take.”

“I am not going to break the law.”

“You mean any more than you did?” Mei joked, before sobering. “More serious, the laws in this county are absurd and I don't think we should bother with them.”

“They are laws written for mortals Mei. They can't be as loose as Asgard's or even Vanaheim's.”

“But Japan is getting in it's own way, not helping it's citizens!” Mei said, her voice growing fevered and angry.

“First, I'm not having this argument while in pain.” Izuku said through clenched teeth.

“Alright.” Mei said, her pout near audible.

“Second, you said you had options?”

“Well, someone with a regeneration granting quirk offers under the table healing for relatively cheap.”

“Honestly, that is not nearly as illegal as I feared.”

“Alright meet me three roads to the east and a kilometre south. I'll have the cash.”

“Do I need to be in costume?” Izuku said, reaching down and picking up his bag.

“It would be best, considering her service is explicitly mentioned on a vigilantism forum.”

“There are forums?” Izuku asked. “Isn't that a liability.”

“They are not easy to get access too.” Mei explained, over the sounds of a door closing.

“Then how did you get access to them so quickly?”

“Izuku, where do you think I've been getting my generic blueprints and textbooks from?”

“A store?”

“They can't be legally sold to someone without a license, or are still technically copyrighted by more draconian companies.”

“Wait how long have you been a criminal?”

“I'm sorry I need to hang up, talk to you later.”


	4. Rest for the Wicked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Izuku deals with consequences of being Izuku

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter, but I can't pin down why. Eventually I just had to call my work good enough and screw perfection. This way I can actually move forward with the actual plot.

Izuku's arm radiated pain from the series of fractures. Each sway of the appendage lit his nerves afire. On the occasion that a civilian actually saw him in the alleys of Hosu, they would always pretend to see nothing and run away. Perhaps mistaking him for a villain. His partner wasn't making the comparison any less likely.

Mei's get up as Gullin was far too prepared. She had a bronze coloured chain mail coat underneath a steel breastplate with a stylized gear etched onto it. Despite being a child, and therefore physically short and lanky, the armour fit with a mechanic's precision. On her right hip she had a sword sheathed and hung a shield off her left. The bright metal shone against the hardened leather breaches she wore. Completing the traditional armour, she wore a full helm of the same steel as the breastplate.

“Any reason your choice of costume is so heavily martial?” Izuku said, tensing his shoulder against another flair of pain.

“I am not as confident in my prowess to value anonymity and agility so heavily over safety as you, my liege.” Mei replied, her voice down pitched to something approaching Heimdallr's dulcet tones.

“Again, you have no need to call me such.” Izuku said, his voice already weary. “Also, I did not choose to wear so little. I simply had nothing else to use.”

“Pardon.”

“I would forgive you, but you have insisted on calling me your liege for the past twelve minutes despite what I say to the contrary.” Mei led them around another corner and up a staircase.

“Not that. Obviously not that.” Mei said, her tone growing more irate. “What do you mean that is all you have?! Am I not able enough to supply you!?”

“Gullin, this is literally the first time I've even admitted to you that I am probably a vigilante. When did you expect me to expect you to make gear for me?”

Mei grumbled, ”You know I hate it when you are all logical and reasonable.”

“I think this is close to the place?” Izuku asked.

Mei paused for a moment to look around the overpass they just walked onto. Apparently finding the building, she pointed down the road. “They are working out of that apartment building over there.”

Izuku followed Mei's hand, before stepping behind her and double checking that he was looking at the right building. “Uh, Gullin. You _are_ pointing at the building that is a strong breeze away from not being a building. Right?”

“Yes Grimmr. Yes I am.” Mei said, a smile in her voice. “If you wanted better accommodations, you should have gone pro.”

“You don't need to be sarcastic.”

“I suppose you're just a terrible influence.” Mei replied, audibly sticking her tongue out at him. “Now let's get your arm fixed.”

“That would be nice.” The pair turned off the actual walkway a couple of metres past the other end of the overpass and turning into the run down building. Unsurprisingly, the elevator was out of order, so they turned to walk up the six flight of stairs up. Their conversation was sparse and vapid, made more for the sake of talking than communicating.

The sixth floor was well lit, a marked difference from the murky darkness. The first door was left open, and looking though it Izuku could see the broken wall leading to the adjacent apartment. The two of them formed a single living room with a modern media centre. Mei nudged him at his side.

Following Mei, the two vigilantes walked down the hallway until they found a small operating theatre set up in the centre of one of the apartment. Sitting on a chair in the meticulously cleaned room, an older gentleman was cleaning a series of scalpels and other surgical tools. Lining the movable table were another half dozen cleaned tools.

“Excuse me.” Mei asked. “Are you busy?”

The doctors head snapped up and the two vigilantes could see the piercing brown eyes set in a scar ridden face. The scrubs the man was wearing were not marred with blood or fluids Izuku would have expected for a back alley underground clinic. If anything, he would claim this clinic to be up to the standards of any hospital he's been to.

“Oh hello.” The man replied. “I didn't expect you? Drop in treatment? Of course, of course it is.”

“Um yes, I broke my arm in several places and need it treated before work.” Izuku said. “If you have time, of course.”

“Come in, come in.” The man said, gesturing to the small bench on the side of the operating theatre. “Arm break, compound? No; good.”

“I'm sorry?” Izuku asked, sneaking a glace at Mei.

“Don't be. Talking to myself. Helps me think.” The doctor said. “Let me see the arm.”

Izuku brought the end of his costume up over his shoulder and hissed when the doctor gently grabbed the bruised flesh. The man was gentle, but even so, the pain was great enough that Izuku bit his cheek to remain silent. His hands began inside Izuku’s elbow and gently felt down from there. Once the doctor got to his wrist, he returned to the elbow and felt up towards the shoulder. Izuku’s visions fled him as he hissed.

“Lucky, clean breaks.” The doctor said. “Low chances of complications. No surgery needed.”

“Excuse me?” Mei asked, “It's a broken arm, why would he need surgery.”

“Quirk’s limited, can't move flesh, just heal it.” The doctor explained. “If bones are unaligned, they fuse crooked. Malign healing. Surgery to prepare for quirk use.”

“So you can just use your quirk on me?” Izuku asked, between short forced breaths. “Can we do it, this hurts.”

“Oh yes. Forgive me. ” The doctor said, before laying his palm on Izuku's brow. An odd sensation built up in Izuku's spine, flowing out like the coolness of a mountain stream. First the pain numbed and Izuku watched the blood seeping back into his veins from the purple bruising.

Then he felt his bone fragments fuse. Unlike the healing of the Aesir or Vanir, Izuku felt the bones attaching to each other. First the break in his upper arm, then the two in his forearm were sealed together. The fire in his nerves abated, only to flair again when the bruised flesh reattached to his bone. Beside him, he saw Mei watching with a fascination that glowed in her eyes.

“Thank you doctor.” Izuku said, slowly stretching out his arm. “Do I need to keep an eye for side effects?”

“Minor issues; nerve damage heals oddly, lack of fatigue is common.” The doctor said, watching Izuku closely as he stretched out his arm. “Circadian rhythm disrupted, unlikely to sleep for twelve to twenty hours.”

“Thank you.” Izuku said, bowing his head to the doctor in local fashion.

“How much do we owe you?” Mei asked, her voice closer than before.

“Simple case; no surgery or drugs used. I say two thousand yen.” The doctor nodded at Izuku once the vigilante had tested his full range of movement. “More if you need healing.”

“No, I’m good.” Mei said, pulling out bills from a hidden pouch and handing them to the doctor. “Thank you for your work.”

The doctor nodded at Mei and took the bank notes. “Welcome, have a good day.”

Hearing the clear dismissal, the vigilantes left the doctors office. A comfortable silence draped between them as they marched down the stairs. The two walked out of the abandoned building and meandered towards the middle point of their homes. Their way back was noticed, and Izuku swore he heard the telltale snap of a photo being taken, but when he looked, he didn’t see anyone on the road with them.

Izuku leaned over toward Mei, and whispered, “Do I dare ask why you had that much money on hand?”

“I saved some of my material budget for this case.” Mei replied, inching closer to Izuku. “Although I can only afford one or two more visits.”

“I appreciate it.” Izuku said, clapping Mei on her shoulders. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem! Someone has to look out for you!” Mei said, her voice loud and joyful.

“Now, we aren’t going to be having another night like this.”

“Of course.” Mei said, like a liar.

“We aren’t!” Izuku protested, “this was pure chance.”

“I’m sure.” Mei said.

“Stop being so mean.” Izuku said, his smile hidden under his headscarf.

“Sure, sure.” Mei looked up to the night sky, the glint of her bronze mask blinding him for a moment. “Those two ravens have been following us since the clinic.”

Izuku looked up, squinting his eyes. Indeed, two ravens were circling above. A pair of _very familiar_ ravens. Izuku held out his arm to let the two land from their flight. The two fluttered down from the air and settled on his forearm. Mei tilted her head, before recognition sparked in her eyes. The unkindness looked back with eyes dark as the abyss and thoughts unknowable.

“So you survived, dear Muninn.” Izuku said, soft and demure. The raven cawed in answer, and let Izuku brush her head. Huginn cawed and nipped at Izuku’s ear. With a chuckle and light in his eyes, Izuku turned his attention to the elder raven; “And yes, I see you too Huginn.”

“They are the same.” Mei said, wonder in her voice.

“They are.”

“They didn’t fall in Ragnerok?”

“I dared not risk my dearest companions in that fight.” Izuku explained, letting the fond memories wash over his back. “Not in a battle against Loki’s brood.”

“They must have seen so much over the years.” Mei scuttled over and began to preen Muninn’s feathers. “To have seen all of that and lived through it””

“To endure is the one gift they never lacked.” Izuku said, giving attention to Huginn. He couldn’t fight the smile in his voice, “They were always the most reliable.”

“You know, it makes us sound like ungrateful children when you say that.” Mei complained, pausing her ministrations to stare at Izuku. Muninn squawked in complain, bidding Mei to continue.

Izuku chuckled, briefly shaking his arm. The two ravens obliged and winged onto his shoulders. “Less than a year since I reclaimed my old pseudonym in the distant corners of Midgard and they already find me.”

“Do you think anyone else survived Ragnarok then?” Mei asked. “I know many of our ranks were foretold to survive the first battle.”

“None that we would remember Me-” Izuku began, before correcting himself. “Gullin, sorry. If you can recall the many cycles of Ragnarok, almost none who lived survived to the next. Even Helheim was ruined and it’s dead killed in the end of that cycle.”

“How disappointing.” Mei said, looking into the distance. “I think this is where we’ll depart then. I’ll see you on Wednesday.”

“Very well, have a good evening.” Izuku said, giving Mei a brief hug. “Thank you for the help.”

“It’s not a problem.” Mei said, before pausing. “Before I forget; I was right.”

Izuku bit back a sigh. “Yes you are.”

Izuku watched Mei leave, feeling the familiar weight of his familiars on his shoulders. Once the last of her bronze armour disappeared past a corner, Izuku turned to leave himself, felling an odd joy in his steps. Drawing in the life gifted to his tarp costume, the fabric returned to normal and slipped of Izuku’s shoulders’ naturally. To the vocal complaint of his unkindness. Izuku had to put up with their collective complaints right in his ears all the way back home.

The walk was otherwise calm, especially at this time of night, just after normal life winds down but before the criminal life really gets going. His apartment building didn’t lock out access, which Izuku found sudden appreciation for. He couldn’t imagine having to wake up his mother at like one in the mourning. That sounded like a terrible idea that will just cause her to ask questions and in general get worried over him. Which would not be very nice of him.

So as Izuku walked up to the third floor and towards his door. Carefully fitting his key into the lock and turning it as slowly as he could, Izuku could hear the fair shifting of his ravens. Beyond that, the faint distant sounds of city life reached his ears. Slowly, ever so slowly, Izuku moved the bolt. The faint grinding of metal on wood was unavoidable, but Izuku kept it as quiet as he could.

The lock clicked open and Izuku sneaked through the door. Closing it softly behind him, Izuku locked the door and moved towards his bedroom. Only to freeze when he saw his mother sitting at the table with a cup of tea and calmly drinking from the cup. Izuku felt his stomach drop and his heart skip a beat, whilst his familiars bristled at his distress. Her mother must have heard something behind her, because she sat up straighter.

“I don’t know what you expected, dear.” His mother began. “Did you really think that I would go to sleep before you got back from Hatusme’s home?”

Izuku bit his lip, before speaking. “I... didn’t really think.”

“Of course you didn’t dear.” His mother sighed. “Is that why you also didn’t call before staying late at your friend’s house?”

“Um.” The pause between the two grew. His mother waiting with unending patience, sitting at the table with her back to him. Meanwhile all Izuku could do was stand rooted, his mind running in circles. Even when his mother coughed, he could find nothing to say.

“Okay Izuku, why don’t you sit down and have a cup of tea.” His mother said, her voice soft and warm. Izuku obliged and walked around her to sit on the other side only to pause when his mother choked.

“Mom?” Izuku asked, spinning around to see his mother staring at his shoulder. When Izuku followed her gaze, he saw Huginn preening himself and looking smug.

“Izuku, what did the two of you _do_?” His mother whispered, her voice carrying the notes of horror filled panic.

“I can explain?” Izuku tried, freezing in place.

“Please do.” Izuku flinched at the sound of resignation and fear in his mother’s voice.

“I, um,” Izuku floundered, moving to sit at the other end of the table where a cup of tea waited for him. “Ah, It’s complicated.”

“I’m sure.” His mother said, a slight quiver in her voice. “Do I need to worry about the police taking you in?”

“No!” Izuku shouted, offended feelings clouding his mind. “Why would you even think that?”

“Izuku.” His mother said, a small sad frown marring her face. “You came in with two ravens I know you didn’t buy and blood under your fingernails.”

Izuku’s eyes snapped to his hands, raising them to get a better look. The tips of his fingers were stained with blood, dried and flaking off. His mind pulled up the memory of striking the frost giant with his spear. Blood from a jotun, forcibly taken. _Freya could have used this to achieve something great with_ _the_ _Seidr_.

“Izuku, did you kill two ravens to bring back with your quirk?” His mother’s voice pulled him back from memory.

Izuku wasn’t sure how he should feel. Hurt that his mother believed him cruel enough to kill for power. _As if he hadn’t already killed Ymir for exactly that._ Excited by the potential vector for his talent. _A lesser imitation of Hel’s unique gifts._ Confused by the odd resignation in his mothers eyes. _Odin did always keep odd company._ Beside his ear, Huginn cawed. Abruptly, Izuku’s old memory were locked behind a will not entirely his own. Feeling a small rush of appreciation for his familiar, Izuku refocused on his mother.

“Mom, I didn’t use my quirk to bring these ravens to life.” Izuku explained, feeling oddly light. “I didn’t kill anyone, and no, this blood isn’t my own either.”

“Okay Izuku,” His mother said, relief reflecting in her eyes. “Did Hatsume-chan blow herself up again?”

“It happened twice, at most. And I’m not convinced the first one counted.” Izuku retorted, humour returning to him for a moment. “Mom, I want you to trust me and not freak out.”

“I’ve already ‘freaked out’ when you didn’t come home the first hour.” His mother said, “but I trust you not to lie to me.”

“Not to behave intelligently?”

“Honey, you are an eleven year old child with visions of being an adult. You are both surprisingly mature without any of the wisdom. You’re impulsive, and while well meaning, you only think of the consequences of you actions after they happen.”

In his ear, he heard Muninn’s laughter. Snapping his head at the raven, he hissed at the small bird; “ _Shut up._ ”

His mother coughed, dragging his attention back to her. Her eyebrows were drawn up and her eyes sparkled uncertainly. “Are you talking to a raven dear?”

“Um, yes.” Izuku stammered, fighting down the blood in his cheeks. The silence was oppressive and suffocating.

“Izuku, nothing you can tell me with worry me more than not knowing.” His mother said, reaching out to grab his hand.

“So I’m a vigilante, I guess.” Izuku said in a rush, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted with the admission.

“Izuku, why?” His mother asked, her voice resigned and disappointed.

“I can’t help myself,” Izuku protested. “When I see people in danger I just can’t stop myself from helping them. I can’t let myself be the kind of person who’ll let be get hurt just because it’s convenient.

“This isn’t about trying to help people.” His mother said, not asked.

“... No.” Izuku begrudgingly admitted.

“You know that you don’t have to atone for those memories of yours, right dear?” His mother asked. “I will not love you any less if you simply live a small and selfish life, and no one can expect you to atone for things you never did.”

“I know you feel that way.” Izuku said, feeling naked and defenceless. “I know that Mei will be with me no matter what I do. But I don’t want to be who I remember.”

“Oh Izuku.” His mother shifted over towards the corner of the table and pulled him into a side hug. “I wish you wouldn’t force yourself like this.”

Izuku fought down the building tears, “You’re not going to ask me not to?”

“Would you actually stop?”

“No....” Izuku admitted, shame bubbling within.

“Then I would rather know. Do you need anything?” His Mother asked, holding him tight.

“I couldn’t ask for anything I don’t already have.” Izuku said, leaning into the hug. “You are the best mom.”

“I know dear.” Mom said, before looking at her watch. Well, I think we should both get some sleep. We need to wake up in six hours.”

“Okay Mom.” Izuku said, squeezing his mother once more. She rubbed his back in small circles, before standing up and heading to her bedroom. Izuku watched her go, then turned to head to to the bathroom.

Carefully peeling out of his sweaty clothing, relief flooded his system when none of the pain returned. So he took an opportunity to quickly wipe down in the bathroom and change into clean sleepwear. Only to find he couldn’t sleep. Much like the doctor said, no matter how much Izuku tossed and turned, he just was not tired enough to go to sleep. The night passed slowly for the boy, and not even probing for deeper memories from his previous life helped pass the time or exhaust him enough to sleep.

It wasn’t until it was time for him to wake up that Izuku grew tired enough to sleep. Dragging himself through his early routine, Izuku’s body shouted at him that he was supposed to be going to sleep. Not the worst exhaustion that he-as-Odin suffered through, but more than he-as-Izuku had ever experienced directly. Still, he was alert enough to pretend to be fine, so his mother refused to let him skip school. Izuku half believed that she was doing it to help limit how much he could go out and vigilante.

Still the journey to school did help, giving his mind something to focus on other than his body’s complaints. His eyes flicked to the sky, where he could see Huginn gliding above the train. It relieved Izuku to know that his familiar was always within reach. Meanwhile, Muninn was still at home building a nest for the conspiracy of ravens. After all it was unlikely that he would need access to her unique attributes while at school.

The walk up to the building had him brushing elbows with many of his classmates, but none of them really had anything to say to Izuku. The only one who would was also liable to try and provoke Izuku into a fight he really didn’t want to get into. The quiet bustle was a balm on his nerves, the routine calming the tension left in his bones.

The class room was quiet, the idle conversation of children barely comparable to the mighty hall of Valhalla. There, the mightiest of the realms would feast, a celebration greater than any other Odin had held in his time as king of the Aesir. Even the quietest among them were louder then Katsuki’s shouts. A distant caw echoed in Izuku’s head, pushing back yet another surge of ancient memories. Just in time to remember that Katsuki was shouting _at him_.

“-listening to me?! You bastard!” Katsuki shouted, slamming his palms on Izuku’s desk.

“Yes Katsuki?” Izuku responded, his voice drawn out and dead.

“I said, tonight we’re fighting!” He shouted, his lean face nearing Izuku’s.

It was petty, even Izuku was forced to admit that. Despite that acknowledgement, Izuku took a deep breath. Then blew straight into Katsuki’s eye. The sudden look of betrayal in his face brought a flash of humour back into Izuku, as he watched in almost slow motion as Katsuki flinched back and his arms came up to rub at his eyes.

Shock flowed seamlessly into anger, then Katsuki jumped back and grabbed Izuku by his collar. “You want to go now! You damn bastard.”

“All right you two.” The teacher called, her voice resigned. “I don’t want to send you to the principal again, so why don’t you just calm down.”

Katsuki paused, before walking back to his desk. The glower he sent at Izuku was impressively expressive, managing to convey the entire spectrum of disdain. Izuku nodded at the teacher, all the while silently considering how much he screwed up. Thankfully for him, the lesson that followed was interesting enough to catch his attention, talking about the ancient history of Japan.

After the history lesson, the teacher left and the class devolved into the chaos that normally occurred when children were gathered. Even in Japan, with it’s cultural focus on order, propriety and discipline had the self same patterns. Katsuki spent the entire break glaring at Izuku, while the latter was momentarily distracted with one of their classmates’ request for help. It was a trivial question, but none the less, Izuku tried to explain the answer to the best of his ability.

The rest of the day was more monotonous for the reborn Aesir, lessons that were new were not advanced enough to challenge the child. The remaining lessons were worse, for they were things already known by the Aesir when he had been king. Lessons of mathematics, philosophy, rudimentary medicine, exercise and the arts. For some, Izuku kept himself invested by tracking the changes in art style since his last life. For others, where the nature of the subject had changed little and the lessons did not touch the advancements made, Izuku spent his time in thought. Thoughts of the lessons he looked forward to, craftsmanship, cooking, and the language courses he choose; or thoughts of his time with Mei, and plans for the future.

The end of the day came, and with it Katsuki’s attention. Izuku was personally proud of being able to evade him for ten minutes. Unfortunately for his tired mind, Katsuki managed to corner Izuku beneath an overpass on the shared route home. The blond was standing in his way on the other side, his arms crossed over his chest. Izuku sighed, and placed his bag at his feet. The air stirred, carrying the scent of winter.

“So you finally stop running, are you done being a coward then?” Katsuki taunted, a condescending smirk on his face.

“Could we not?” Izuku asked, “I’m not really in the mood for this.”

“Too late, you think I forgot that shit this morning?”

“Not particularly.” Izuku undid his tie, and threw it to the side with his jacket soon following. Somehow, more adrenaline hit his blood, causing that addicting rush.

“Are you done?” Katsuki asked, gesturing to the pile of fabric Izuku had placed to the side.

“Yeah,” Izuku answered, immediately stepping back from Katsuki’s charge. The blond followed, and let loose a simple jab. Izuku let it land on his shoulder, retaliating with a kick at his opponent’s ankles. The sound of flesh on flesh was loud, enough that Izuku vaguely worried about being caught by the police. The mortals wouldn’t understand the Aesir ways and would instead try to arrest them.

Taking a shaky side step, Katsuki tried to knee the king reborn in the gut. Izuku immediately responded by hopping backwards, avoid the nasty blow. The blond stepped forward into Izuku’s answering jab, catching it on his left forearm and loosed a fast punch that slipped past Izuku’s guard. The fist smashed into his throat. Izuku’s body spasmed, his lungs burning and his eyes tearing.

Katsuki slipped past Izuku’s blind shove, instead forcing his foot into Izuku’s knee. The joint buckled, and Izuku fell to his knees. His vision was blacking out, but Izuku forced himself to respond. His body screamed at his abuse, but it obeyed. A sudden leap back tore something in his groin, but it managed to get some space. A wheezing breath relieved the worst of the spots in his vision, but that only revealed Katsuki’s sudden shift in posture.

He was using the Valkyries’ distinctive martial arts. Forcing his breath of life into his sore body, Izuku dove under Katsuki’s lunge. The life in his body moved him faster than his muscles alone could do, but still it wasn’t enough. His opponents elbow smashed into the square of Izuku’s back. His would be roll turned into a painful flop, and Katsuki’s response was particularly vindictive.

Izuku’s arms were forced behind his back, where they were held underneath a knee pinning him to the ground. Perhaps, if Izuku cared enough, he could have broken the pin. Certainly with enough creativity he could use his breath of life to do it. On the other hand, he didn’t particularly mind losing to Katsuki. It was like losing to Thor in arm wrestling, entirely natural and expected. Izuku tried to turn his head to look at Katsuki, but he couldn’t quite get his head around enough.

“Feeling better?” Izuku asked, feeling particularly glib.

“I put your fucking ass right back where it belongs.” Katsuki said, shoving Izuku into the ground and standing up.

Izuku sighed, peeling himself off the ground. “Well, if that is all, I do have places to be.”

Katsuki paused, his footsteps pausing behind him. Izuku was brushing off his pants when his friend turned and spoke to him again; “Hey, uh, are you, like, fucking okay?”

“Of course!”

“... Why are you lying to me?” Katsuki asked, his voice pained.

Izuku turned, taking in _genuine_ concern on Katsuki’s face. “I’m not lying!”

The blond’s brows screwed inward. “Yes you are. I thought you trusted me?”

Izuku sputtered, “What am I supposed to say? I say I’m not lying and you wont believe me!”

“You’re not very good at lying, nerd. Now are you going to tell me what’s up or not?”

“It’s not a big deal, I’m just tired!” Izuku said, breaking eye contact to brush down his undershirt.

“At least you’re not lying.” Katsuki said, pausing for a moment. Izuku felt the weight of his friend’s stare and forced himself not to fidget. “How about you tell be what’s _actually_ bothering you?”

A swell of insecurity rose in his breast, and Izuku moved to the side to pick up his jacket and bag. “Just anxious about some things, I don’t want to talk about it.”

Katsuki watched Izuku gather his things, his stare burning on his back. Before Izuku could leave, the blonde rested a hand on his shoulder. Neither spoke, but Katsuki stayed there for a minute. His firm grip grounded Izuku.

“Deal with your issues, then I want an actual fucking fight.”

A smile bloomed on his face, as Izuku responded. “Of course. Shall we head back then?”

“Obviously nerd,” Katsuki said. The two left the overpass, heading towards the neighbourhood they both lived in. “So we have to do our stupid planning things soon.”

“The career planning sheets? I thought it would be easy for you?” Izuku said, turning his head slightly to look at Katsuki. “Hero industry and the top three hero schools.”

“Like you are any different,” Katsuki sneered, jabbing his elbow into Izuku’s side.

“Well, certainly number one is going to be UA, but I might try to swing support department at UA second, before trying other hero schools.”

Katsuki laughed, but slowly petered out, “No shit, you’re serious?” Izuku nodded, already tensing his back. “What the fuck? I thought we were going to be heroes together? Are you flaking out, huh bastard?”

“I have another friend who is working on getting into the support department and she makes it look interesting,” Izuku said, waving his hands in front of him. “It’s not like I can’t become a hero through the support department, support heros are a thing!”

Katsuki stared at Izuku, before speaking slowly, “You are going to introduce me to this new friend of yours.”

“Uh, sure?”

“Good.”

The two walked in silence, the weight of it pressing down on Izuku. The longer the silence lasted, the heavier it grew. Lacking the courage to draw upon the strength of Odin, Izuku lacked the strength to overrule the silence with words. When Izuku made to diverge from Katsuki, he turned and looked at his friend.

“See you tomorrow Katsuki?” He offered.

“Sure, introduce me to your friend. We can grab taiyaki or something.” Katsuki said, looking over at Izuku. “See you tomorrow, nerd.”

  



End file.
